Book Description
Precious Ramotswe is the eminently sensible and cunning proprietor of the only ladies’ detective agency in Botswana. In
Tears of the Giraffe she tracks a wayward wife, uncovers an unscrupulous maid, and searches for an American man who disappeared into the plains many years ago. In the midst of resolving uncertainties, pondering her impending marriage to a good, kind man, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, and the promotion of her talented secretary (a graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College, with a mark of 97 per cent), she also finds her family suddenly and unexpectedly increased by two.
Customer Reviews:
What's not to love???.......2007-06-04
Loved it! This author writes with clarity and passion such that I find myself immersed in his work. Truly a don't miss!
A Beautiful Life.......2007-05-31
An enchanting book for all ages, of a good, quiet, content, polite world. No violence, no sex, no sadness. Characters are satisfied with the way they look, and the way they live, and have plenty to give! This book encourages moral, social, and family ties. It promotes the almost-forgotten concept of active involvement in bringing happiness to others, and hence to oneself. In this novel, Africa is forever warm, colorful, friendly, and proud.
Outstanding Stories.......2007-04-06
I have read everyone of Alexander McCall Smith's books of life in Africa and I loved everyone of them. Alexander McCall Smith is a great story teller and his characters come to life. His talent in describing the everyday events in the life of his characters is nothing less than brilliant. Do yourself a favor, read any one of his books and you will be transformed into the life of
people you don't meet everyday.
The Adventures of Mma Ramotswe continue.......2007-03-03
In TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE the wonderful sequel to THE NO.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY, Mma Ramotswe, the strong, feisty, proud but compassionate lady detective (the only in Botswana, maybe Africa) faces new challenges both in her life and in her work. Upon her engagement to the kind, reliable mechanic, Mr. J.L.B Matekoni, she ponders a possible move, negotiates the purchase of her engagement ring (diamond, of course!) and suddenly finds herself a new mother of two children. She is also called upon by an American mother to resolve the mystery of her son, who disappeared in the desolate Kalahari Plains many years ago, and track the modern, 'wayward' wife of a honest butcher.
Like its predecessor, this book is not your typical "who dun it" detective story- in fact, the detective element figures in this story even less than in the first novel. Mma Ramotswe only solves two cases- actually, she solves only one, as the other is solved by her able, newly promoted Assistant, Mma Makutsi. Rather, the novel focuses on developing solid characters (apart from Mma Ramotswe, we get much more insight in this novel into the characters of Mr. J.L.B Matekoni and Mma Makutsi) and highlights life in Botswana and the views of its proud people.
Unlike its predecessor, this book has more of a focus on ex-pats and development workers, which I found interesting as an ex-pat development worker in Africa. Mma Ramotswe comments that Ex-pats often do not have good manners (ie, would shake with one hand, leaving the other hand free for 'mischievous activities') and do not understand simple, obvious issues such as the fact that the dead are always with us. Ex-pat development workers, although well-meaning, are always coming up with bizarre, idealistic theories and schemes. They are always giving advice, always trying 'to change the world.' But, as Mma Ramotswe says, vegetables just were not meant to be grown in the Kalahari desert! Furthermore, "Africa needs its own solutions."
This novel also focuses on moral issues: Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B Matekoni both lament the loss of 'the Old Botswana morality' which promotes hard work and a respect for elders. Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi struggle with moral questions such as, does the end justify the means? Ie, is it okay to lie, manipulate and blackmail to get a desired, even just, result? The novel ends on a beautiful note, suggesting that in order to heal after loss, compassion, understanding and reconciliation maybe more important than strict justice.
love the detective agency.......2007-01-24
I love the descriptions of the life and places in these books. Very rich.
Book Description
The first three books in Alexander MCCall Smith's beloved bestselling series, featuring Mma Precious Ramotswe, the traditionally built, eminently sensible, cunning proprietor of the only ladies' detective agency in Botswana, are now available in a beautifully designed boxed set.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent reading!.......2006-08-28
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time - I couldn't put it down. I would definitely recommend this book to others.
The NO. 1 Ladies Detective Agenc Box Set.......2006-03-10
I love the box set . It is a great gift for any young adult or adult. I have finished " The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency" and really enjoyed it. I would recommend these books to anyone.
as fresh as a palm tree in spring.......2006-01-08
This is a great collection of books, light, fresh and funny enough, and the writing is cheerful and simple. 5 stars is not enough, plus, it feeds the love for one's country and values.
The world's most non-stop pleasant novel series.......2005-10-23
Need to calm down, cheer up, chill out or get happy? You can't go wrong with any of the books in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. They are reliably interesting, likable and uplifting. These are the stories of Precious Ramotswe, a substantial lady of extreme common sense and compassion who makes other people's problems are her own. I highly recommend these books; can't imagine anybody who wouldn't like them!
An Outstanding Series!.......2005-08-30
Anyone wanting to read a fascinating book about life in Africa with "homespun" wisdom that is extremely relaxing and enjoyable to read will love this series about Precious Ramotswe and her life in Botswana. She is a delightful character, experiencing life's sorrows, troubles, and joys while maintaining a deep reverence and gratitude for life. After reading this set, I could hardly wait to read the next three - "The Kalahari Typing School for Men," "The Full Cupboard of Life," and "In The Company of Cheerful Ladies." I now can only hope that Alexander McCall Smith will write more books in this delightful series!
Book Description
Cuando mma Ramotswe repasa sus cuentas a final de año, descubre que no se está haciendo rica, pero tampoco ha perdido dinero; ha tenido suerte y ha estado muy ocupada; una situación bastante parecida a su idea de la felicidad.
La fama de su agencia de detectives ha llegado a oídos de la embajada de Estados Unidos que la recomienda a una de sus ciudadanas: la señora Curtain, cuyo hijo desapareció en el desierto de Kalahari, hace más de diez años. Michael Curtain trabajaba en la mejora de la agricultura en el árido suelo africano, cuando se esfumó sin dejar rastro. A pesar de las dificultades y del tiempo transcurrido, mma Ramotswe acepta el caso, porque sabe muy bien lo que significa perder a un hijo.
La solidaridad, la complicidad y la comprensión entre Precious Ramotswe y la señora Curtain es muy similar a la que se produce entre su prometido, J.L.B Matekoni, un hombre honrado y cariñoso, y dos niños del orfanato local a los que Matekoni siente el irreflenable deseo de proteger.
Mma Ramotswe, la dueña de la primera agencia femenina de detectives de Botsuana, no sólo tendrá un negocio y un marido, sino una familia completa de quien ocuparse. Al fin y al cabo, en África todos somos "hermanos y hermanas" y ese es el mensaje de esta emocionante novela que ofrece mucho más que la mera solución de un misterio de la mano de un personaje que ha cautivado a millones de lectores en todo el mundo.
Product Description
Includes 7 books from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Type School for Men, The Full Cupboard of Life, In the Company of Cheerfull Ladies, Blue Shoes and Happiness
Average customer rating:
- An utter joy to read, polite and gentle humour
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Tears of the Giraffe
Alexander McCall Smith
Manufacturer: Time Warner AudioBooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
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ASIN: 1405500026 |
Customer Reviews:
An utter joy to read, polite and gentle humour.......2006-04-30
This is the audio cassette edition of the second book in the Precious Ramotswe series - quite nice reading, the books are better, but great listening in the car!
I can't believe it has taken me so long to discover the Precious Ramotswe stories - of the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency - they are gorgeous. Precious like their owner, gently funny, beautifully polite and full of lovely moments.
Precious is engaged to Rra J B L Matkekoni, owner of the Speedy car repair service and himself a gentle man. I love the intertwiing of the stories in this. There is the problem of the American woman who lost her son 10 years ago. She knows he is not alive anymore, she simply wants to know what has happened. Then there is the problem of the local butcher who wants to know if his wife is cheating on him with another man. Unknown to Precious she has caused another problem, that of Ra J B L Matekoni's maid. She resents Precious coming into his life and now making her life very difficult. A fiance for Ra J B L Matekoni will spell the end for her life of relaxation. She will have to clean the house, she will not be able to entertain male friends. There are complications she does not wish to deal with. She wants Precious to go away and is prepared to do something about it.
These stories are very much about character development and plot. The problems which Precious has been hired for are generally small and not life threatening. The language is beautifully formal in the style you can imagine they speak, and the overall impression is of intimacy - these are concerns which I can relate to they aren't murder and international spy rings. They are small concerns involved mostly in every day life.
There are some classic touches in this - the resolution of the butchers problem is classically beautiful, as in the undercover observation of the straying woman.
This is beautifully written, it absolutely sings. I have fallen in love! Totally in love with this series!
Product Description
4 trade paperback Titles By Smith - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - The Full Cupboard of Life - Morality for Beautiful Girls - Tears of the Giraffe
Customer Reviews:
Where's the usual high standard.......2000-05-31
Although I usually read Michael Williams DragonLance novels I bought this book as it seemed the only intresting one in the quite understocked shop.Knowing Michael Williams for his poetry in the dragonlance novels and his own novels in the series such as weasels luck I was expecting even a partially decent novel, and although the prologue was good the book rapidly fell downhill, becoming confusing with a boring plot, unoriginal characters and some actual gaping holes in the plot as far as I can see, such as basing the novel in a fantasy land and then refering to places in the real world. The book was a struggle to finish reading and must be one of the only books I can remember not having enjoyed. After reading such poor material I almost feel I could do better myself and am warning you if you enjoy michael williams work stay away from this book as it will only be a dissapointment.
Book Description
Two centuries into the future, the Hundred Concerns, a group of powerful corporations that dominate galactic commerce, have pressured the Commonwealth of Humans into signing a pact with the Haluk, a conquering alien race with nefarious designs. Among the few people who recognize the malevolent intent of the aliens is hotheaded maverick Helly Frost.
To prove that the Haluk have created demiclones--genetically engineered individuals who are perfect human replicas--Helly travels to the Sagittarius Whorl, a fearsome region of the galaxy hostile to every form of life. But he must find crucial pieces of evidence that will expose the Haluk plot. Instead, he discovers something far darker than he had ever imagined. . . .
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-04
Helly is back doing the corporate thing yet again, helping out his very rich family fight off an opponent, by putting his talents for dodgy and sneaky to good use.
There is still the overaching threat of the aliens that he has to get people to realise and deal with. For this, he needs more proof, and this mission is the more important part of the story.
Enjoyable conclusion to space opera.......2003-10-10
As I've stated earlier, Julian May is one of the tops in the business. A stunningly talented writer whose prose makes me envious. Colorful, vibrant, textured verbiage make her worlds come to life. This world, set 200 years in the future, features humans having colonized and exploited two of our galaxy's spiral arms--thousands of worlds. Megacorps dominate all aspects of society-- but big business is corrupt.
May ups the ante in this concluding volume of the Rampart Worlds Trilogy. The antagonist is now a xenophobic alien species secretly usurping our technology in a covert attempt to eventually overwhelm the human species and take over our worlds. They need "breathing room".
The tension in this one is certainly a bit higher than the other two books in the series-- the stakes are higher, and her protagonist, Asa Frost, is in dire straits when the book opens. Still, this wasn't a page turner like a Ludlum thriller. The twists and turns of this book were fun, tongue-in-cheek, goofy at times, with just a bit more seriousness than the first two. I must commend May-- I never tired of Asa Frost,although all three books are written from his perspective. Despite this, I still felt like her supporting characters were relatively undeveloped.
What do I mean by relatively? Hey-- she still does a better job than 99% of sci-fi writers out there! May is a brilliant writer, with fresh ideas and perspectives that are a joy to read! By all means, read all her books, including this series, concluding with this finale, Sagittarius Whorl.
May does it again.......2001-09-21
Julian May has a serious problem. She is such a wonderful writer, her plots, her style . . . . everything is at such a high level that her readers have come to expect nothing less than perfection from her. Certainly, I expected perfection when I began to read Sagitarius Whorl. I didn't find perfection, but nor did I find any thing less than pure enjoyment.
This book, and the series as a whole, has everything that makes science fiction worthwhile. An intriguing plot with many twists and turns, a compelling yet not entirely sympathetic hero, sex, violence, and a vision of a humanity that continues to grow, mature, and slowly begins to eschew greed for humaneness and concern for the common weal.
In some ways, this series is more accessible than the Pliocene and Galactic milieu epics, but it is no less compelling. Highly recommended.
Even more unpredictable twists!.......2001-02-03
Sagittarius Whorl lived up to the Rampart World's books' trend for twists, twirls, ups, downs and cliffhangers. This book was different from the others, though. Asa Frost (He's not Helmut Icicle anymore in my mind) has had his character change and grow. May's tendency to play with style, timeline and perspective grew in this book as well. Much of the book is narrated in such a way that the future is known, but may manages to still kick the struts out from under expectations of *when* the events the reader knows about will happen. The result is a surprise that isn't a surprise, which is an good trick.
Incredible Conclusion.......2001-01-09
The Sagittarius Whorl is an amazingly well thought out, interesting, and thought provoking conclusion to Julian May's Rampart World Trilogy. Julian May is quite well known to many sci-fi junkies, and this trilogy of intergalactic corporate control, alien demiclones, and the one man willing to fight for right can't fail to please her old fans while concurrently drawing in new fans. While some may say that the story of an intergalactic cowboy fighting personal and political injustice is somewhat cliche, May manages to not only make it fresh, but to make it so intriguing i couldn't even put the book down. This is a great story that even has relevance to the increasingly corporate world of today. Buy this book, buy this series, you won't regret it.
Book Description
365 Quick, Easy and Inexpensive Dinner Menus meets all the needs of every home cook. This book tastefully combines nutrition, ease of preparation and cost-efficiency while offering not just single dish recipes but full meal menus-one for every day of the year! With homespun charm, warm wit and playful trivia, home-cooks are provided with a ready-made plan for entire meals that are fun, cheap and quick. 365 Quick, Easy and Inexpensive Dinner Menus is a cookbook for the entire family and its innovative menus have been approved by kids nationwide. The book is multi-indexed: by food category and by preparation time.
Customer Reviews:
complicated and not worth it.......2006-12-30
I received this as a Christmas present and was disappointed after reading it. The recipes called for a lot of ingredients, most of which you wouldn't typically keep in your house. The meals definitely weren't inexpensive and some didn't sound very appetizing. I didn't find one meal that my husband and I would both eat, nor would I have time to make it since we both work. This book is better for someone who doesn't work and has time to cook. For everyone else, it's not worth it to purchase this book.
boring and inexact.......2006-01-18
the recipies in this book are plain and uninspired. they are also inexact. in the recipie for Tuna Noolde Casarole it calls for a bag of pasta. What type of pasta? How big a bag. I put a 1 lb bag of egg noodles in and tried to put it in the recomended size container, didn't fit. The sauce is also not nearly enough for the quantity (if you use 1 lb of egg noodles).
One proof short of ready for publishing.......2006-01-09
There are great recipes in this book - cookies for each month, craft ideas for kids, etc. However, there are so many little things wrong with this book that one more good proof read would have caught. There are tips for taking the fat out of recipes on the same page as a recipe for lasagna that calls for TEN cups of cheese. There is great vagueness throughout in the measurements. What is "one small package" or "one small can?" There is a recipe for roast that calls for 90 minutes of cooking time and various other ingredients but makes no reference to the weight of the meat used. Lots of reliance on hot dogs, cheese whiz, canned soups, etc. That said, if you sift the obviously weak recipes out, there are some good solid recipes in this book. You just need to look for them. I got this book on deep discount for less than $5, so all in all, it's been worth it.
Great little book.......2005-10-23
This is an interesting read and a good cookbook. Like others have mentioned - it has recipes grouped for every day of the year, like a calendar. It also has cookies of the month to start off every month, and also has craft recipes for kids. No pictures of the recipes but it does have every type of recipe you can imagine in it that are "normal" for "normal people". No gourmet, just great food.
Organized by the Day of the Year.......2005-06-30
June 30
BBQ Spanish Ribs
Poppy Seed Cake
Lemon Glaze
Each day of the year has a menu for dinner. The variety seems endless and the ingredients are all easy to find. One day you might make Grilled Sirloin Tips with Mushrooms and the next you might make an Ice Cream Cookie Desert.
The recipes are all family friendly and easy to prepare. A few of the yeast breads like the Cinnamon rolls take a little more time because you have to let the dough rise. Most of the recipes seem to have a prep time of around 15 minutes and you can have dinner on the table within the hour.
Penny E. Stone also includes fun activities for kids, kitchen trivia and smart shopping tips like adding a pat of butter to boiling water when cooking potatoes to keep the water from foaming up. That is worth the price of the book! I did notice that the last time I made rice and added butter - that tip worked.
Recipes include little headnotes, holiday notes and the directions are easy to follow. Some of the recipes that stood out include:
Stuffed Manicotti
Pistachio Cake
Tiramisu Toffee Dessert
Crispy Herb Chicken
Turkey Noodle Bake
Fresh Strawberry Pie
Vegetable Lasagna
Quick and Easy Cobbler - You know that recipe with cake mix, pie filling and melted butter.
The design of this book makes it very user friendly and the recipes are "kid approved." This cookbook has a lot of classic recipes I remember from my childhood and lots of interesting recipes like Chicken Cordon Blue and Individual Pizza Pies.
~TheRebeccaReview.com
Books:
- Ten Big Ones: A Stephanie Plum Novel
- Terror Town: An Abe Lieberman Mystery (Abe Lieberman)
- The Aerodrome: A Love Story
- The Beekeeper's Apprentice
- The Bourne Supremacy
- The Ethical Assassin: A Novel
- The Falling Boy: A Novel
- The Final Detail
- The Folding Star
- The Forgotten Man (Elvis Cole Novels)
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Morality for Beautiful Girls (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 3)
The Kalahari Typing School for Men (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 4)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Book 1)
The Full Cupboard of Life (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 5)
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency)
